LONDON, England —Managing Director Christian Lee turned around a money losing UK branch of Zimmer & Rohde when he joined the company in 1990 according to Andreas Zimmer, principal of this family owned editeur.

Today, Z+R UK is a profitable, $5 million branch of parent Z+R, with $100 million in annual sales. This year Lee, celebrates 25 years at the helm of Zimmer + Rohde UK.  Since, 1990, Zimmer says that Christian Lee has been instrumental in transforming the Z+R brand of contemporary fabrics into a world leadership position.

Looking back to the first 25 years at the helm of Z+R UK, Lee recalls, “what really appealed to me was the fact that it was over 100 years old and a fourth generation family business, something I could closely relate to. The UK side of the business was losing money and it was up to me to decide how to turn it around.  I felt ready for that challenge.” Christian Lee

“My tactic was to grow the business by highlighting that all the textiles were woven in Italy and to embrace the fact that Zimmer + Rohde designs were ‘contemporary’.  At that time this was a fairly new trend in interiors that was in its infancy in the UK but gradually ‘contemporary’ took off and the business flourished to the success that we are enjoying today.  Now there are over 20 people working for the company in our head office in London and throughout the UK,” Lee points out.

Before taking up residence in the Chelsea Harbour Design Centre, the Zimmer + Rohde office was located in the West End, the traditional textile area of London.  Z+R became one of the first companies to take the chance and set up in the ‘Chelsea Garden Market’, as the Design Center was then known.  Lee decided to move his textiles business to this space, creating a new shopping ground for the textiles industry.  Enticing friends and business colleagues to join him, Lee was instrumental in the creation of the Chelsea Harbour Design Centre, an interiors hub sought by UK design professionals.

“Being able to celebrate two milestones in one year is a special thing. However, 25 years at Zimmer + Rohde is something that brings me immense pride and joy. I could not have imagined it when I started, but to see how far we have brought the business in that time is just fantastic. British design is up there amongst the best in the world,” Lee feels. “We have extremely talented and professional people in all aspects of the business who are always trying to create something different.  Modern design is also about keeping the soul involved; clever design is about creating layers, building upon journeys and experiences in order to produce an eclectic range of products that reflect our own human journeys and experiences in their styles, colors and textures.  At Zimmer + Rohde we try to create depth.”